Outreach: Both Big & Little “Oh”

On the DTS we have 2 forms of outreach on the programme, the local outreaches we do here in Belfast on a weekly basis during the lecture phase (known as “Little O”) and the big outreach phase which takes place the few months immediately following the lecture phase (“Big O”).

We started local outreach just before Christmas, two of our students (Meg & Kyle) and I are working with the Belfast Education & Library Board detached youth workers on the Shankill to meet and talk to young people in the area who are unconnected with youth centres or organisations…more on this in the future, when we’ve done it a bit more! But this blog is all about Big O!

I now know where I’m going to be going in April and May of this year! Drum-roll please…….I’m going to Rwanda and Burundi! We are splitting into two teams on the DTS and one team is going to Rwanda/Burundi (Team ‘RnB’) while the other team is going to India!

There’s a pretty interesting story behind India, so I’ll give you the low-down on Rwanda & Burundi after that…

Before coming back on staff with YWAM Belfast, for the last year of Bible College, I felt myself developing a heart for India, God seemed to be putting it in my path fairly frequently, I kept meeting people from India, missionaries who had been there and having issues relating to India laying heavily on me. I wasn’t sure what this meant, or why it was happening, because I knew that YWAM Belfast had never been to India before on an outreach and I hadn’t heard any rumour that one was planned! So I was confused as to why God seemed to be calling me to YWAM and also putting this seemingly contradictory calling on my heart. But, as per usual, He knows what He’s doing…

I arrived on the staff retreat, and was talking to Erin and while talking we realised that we had both been feeling the same things for that area of the world, me for India, her for Pakistan. We decided to explore it more. When Erin was praying with another member of staff, she independently of Erin also said “Why don’t we go to India for outreach?” We then, months later discovered that a Sri Lankan member of staff had been quietly praying for the year that this DTS outreach would go to India, she hadn’t told anyone, and she hadn’t tried to manipulate the situation. She just prayed and waited for God to work. And it seems He did!

So, you may be asking…. “Why aren’t YOU going to India, Tom?” And believe me…this is a question I was asking myself and God a lot in the run up to Christmas. I was so excited when I found out that we decided to go to India, that I was sure I was going. I had my mind made up! But the thing was, I didn’t stop to say to God, “I know you put India on my heart, but is it THIS India trip that you want me on?” I just powered through, having decided myself that this was the right time!

So, when we started praying as staff about which outreach location we should go to (Rwanda/Burundi or India) I was pretty surprised to hear that God seemed to be telling me to go to Rwanda & Burundi! So, to cut a long story short (if only this was my motto all of the time!) I realised that the timing for India being on my heart was for group confirmation that we should be going there…I think India lies in my future somewhere, but it’s up to God to bring it back into my life somehow!

The exciting thing about the India team is that the ONLY reason they are going there is because God has directed. It was never in our planning to take a team to India, it was never in the over-arching plan of YWAM Belfast, but only because God spoke and led us there are we going. This has some pretty exciting ramifications. The team going there can know that, regardless of the hard times they will no doubt face, they are there on a very much God-ordained trip. They know that they are there for a reason, and that God has a very specific purpose for them while in India. Watch this space for more news of the India team!

BUT, in other news, I realise I sound pretty excited about India, and I’m not even GOING there! (Yet! ☺) But, where I AM going is Rwanda & Burundi.

These two countries are right in the middle of Africa as you can see below, you might need to put some glasses on to see them! They are the two red countries in the middle of all the green!


Below you can see the two countries a bit closer up!


On the DTS group going here, we’re a small team of 5 students and 3 staff members. One of our students has been to Burundi 4 times before, and has plans to stay there long-term in the future, so this is an exciting trip to see roots going down and potential for ministries stretching not just 2 months but into the future!

There is a lot of stuff to consider as we start planning an outreach to these two countries. I don’t know how much of the history you know of these countries, but both of them have been torn by internal and ethnic war over the last 15 years, and the hurt still runs deep within the people there, so it’s an intimidating place to be going into, but exciting, because of the potential for seeing God working in healing in the people. On our team we are all aware of the need for God to be at the centre of our group and the ministry we do there. We can do nothing in these countries without our God to strengthen and guide us. The challenge is in remembering this throughout all the time!

On a personal note, I’m going to be leading this team of 8 people to these countries, something that I haven’t done before. It’s quite a big prospect for me to undertake, so I would very much appreciate your prayers as we start to put our team together, to bond, and prepare ourselves for our adventure and whatever God has planned for us!

There’ll be much more on these countries over the next few months, but if you’re after some reading, check out these sites for a bit more history on these two beautiful countries

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burundi & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwanda

Pre-Christmas Catch Up (Somewhat belated...)

I’m sitting here on my bed at home, full up after two consecutive turkey-dinner eating days, and realising that I should probably make good on my promise to catch this site up on what’s been happening!

When last we talked…. we had just gotten back from Harpenden and our lectures with their DTS. We came back straight into a week of “Forgiveness Training” with the other YWAM ministry here in Belfast. They were training us in how to lead other people in the Forgiveness journey, and how to teach it in schools. On the Tuesday of this week we had an opportunity to go into a school and lead a class in discussion and thinking on this subject which was a good experience, and just a small window into the great work that the guys are doing here working in schools.

This week was also very much charicterised with a great gift in my life... My very good friend Jessica who i went to college with for 2 years at Belfast Bible College was in Belfast for a visit! She was welcomed with open arms into the YWAM Belfast community, staying with us for the week. Jessica is one of my best friends and having her here was a real blessing, it's been funny telling her all about this place I'm living in now and the people I'm sharing my life with with her not having met or seen it! So it was nice to introduce her and give her a taste of Shankill living!

Below are some pictures from her visit...I feel I need to apologise, i think there's at least one picture (and I think you'll be able to guess which one) she told me specifically not to put up here...and yet, here i go.... Aww well, she'll forgive me! (I hope!)

This is not Jessica's usual look! It was a special one night only thing...but i think it suits her!


Jessica, me and a good friend from Dublin Karen spent a weekend on the North Coast. For some reason, this is a tradition of ours when we get together, a picture with toothbrushes! (Mum...I hope you're proud!)


Jessica and I headed down to the City Hall to check out the "Belfast Eye"


It felt like the week was over before it began! Went by pretty quickly...but it was nice to spend a good bit of time with some good friends.

We then were straight into a week of lecture with another “year out” group, also based in Belfast, called the “Sword of the Spirit”, and again these lectures were on Reconciliation. But interestingly from two different angles. A representative from S.O.S. (Sword of the Spirit), Bruce Yocum, spoke for the first few days on the theological and Biblical basis on reconciliation and ecumenicalism working itself out, while our very own Jonny Clark from YWAM NI took on the last few days speaking on how these two issues can work in a practical way.

The following and last before Christmas week, (sorry! I’m powering through these to get through everything!) saw a move in a different direction for the DTS, up until now, it has been quite intellectual in content, using our heads a lot, but the emphasis for the next few lecture weeks is really going to be on the heart, trying to learn by encountering God in his deity and grow spiritually, not just in our brains. So, to start us off on this journey, Jonny gave lectures on the “Father heart of God”, leading us in discussion and meditation on God’s love for us and how it mirrors that of a father for a child. There was a lot more to it than this (but you’ll have to do a DTS to find out what! ☺) Then the week was finished off by two visiting speakers called Andrew & Nice Bowers, who came to speak on “Original Design”, basically the premise being that we have been created to be someone pretty specific, God did not just throw us together and hope for the best, but he has an exact and beautiful design for each of us, but the problem is that oftentimes we don’t believe it, we lose sight of what this is, or else never actually discover it in the first place! Andrew and Nice walked us through this topic, and spent a lot of their time (including their time off) praying with each of us individually and seeking God as to what He designed us to be.

The lecture times are really some of the pivotal moments on a DTS, and we have been very much blessed so far this year with committed speakers who very much value the students that we have and inputing into their lives. And on the flipside, the students have been appreciating what it is that the lecturers bring to the table, fresh ideas and wisdom gained from years of actually getting out there and doing the things that they are talking about, serving God in very practical ways and getting to know Him intimately through this.

One exciting thing though is that it’s not all classroom on this DTS, there’s very much an opportunity for our students to practice what they are learning. In the next blog, I’ll be letting you in on some exciting news about outreach!

Happy Christmas!

Hey there,
So this is the big "Happy Christmas" post! There's more to come in the next few days (I keep promising this...i need to actually get on it!) But I just wanted to leave this to say Happy Christmas to all who read here...

Here's a wee picture from our YWAM Northern Ireland Christmas dinner last week.


Hope you have a good Christmas with those you love.

'The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.'
Luke 2: 10 & 11

Harpenden

I never wanted to be the kind of person who only blogged every few months…I did plan on keeping this pretty much up to date, and yet, three weeks have passed now, and I haven’t written here. So, this is my attempt at making up for it! Quite a lot has happened in the last few weeks, so I think I’ll not attempt to communicate it all in one go! I’ll start with my week in England…

Harpenden

When you last heard from me, I was sitting in the airport in Belfast on my way to Harpenden, which is a five-minute train ride from Luton airport. The rest of our school was already over there and I was heading over late owing to the fact that I had stayed late to see my friend Jessica from college as she visited from America (much more on this adventure the next time I blog…) I navigated the journey, and arrived at the YWAM base in Harpenden early on the Sunday afternoon. I spent the afternoon getting to know the base a bit better there and had a nice cup of tea and plate of chips with a few people, then getting a good nights sleep!


The entrance to the YWAM base in Harpenden.

We were sharing lectures with the DTS in Harpenden and the guy speaking was an American guy called Carl Stauffer who has been living and working in South Africa for the last 13 years in mediation. The Belfast DTS and base here is very much focused on reconciliation (as you should know ☺) and this was the topic that Carl was talking on over the week. The good thing about this week of lectures was the fact that in the past we’ve been learning about reconciliation from quite a theoretical point of view, but Carl this week, although he comes from a place of great theoretical knowledge, was also coming with a lot of practical knowledge and stories of reconciliation working in action.

The base in Harpenden couldn’t really have contrasted more with our base here in Belfast! There’s a lot of ground around the buildings there, (known as “the oval”) Just before I left, I stood in the middle of the oval and took a video of the base there that you can see below here, it’s a pretty impressive set-up! (That’s one of the Belfast staff Adam running towards the camera at the end by the way…)

It’s funny to see a base that’s been there for so long, that’s pretty well established, when you look at us here in Belfast, pretty much still in the pioneering stage. I’m really encouraged and excited about what is happening in Belfast, and excited to see the future develop, to see what can happen with us. In the world of big YWAM bases, we seem to be doing something a bit different, and it’s pretty exciting to be a part of it.


Harpenden Town Centre


Our students in the dining hall bonding over the table tennis table…this happened a lot!

The students did great in England, I think seeing another YWAM base makes you appreciate what you yourself have, and although we all had a good time in Harpenden, I think everyone was glad to get back to the norm, and to the house and city that is becoming “home” to these students.